ESD Spring Camp, Thanh Hóa 2023: Hào hùng Sử Việt

Ếch Sọc Đỏ Camp (ESD camp) is the first and only boarding camp in Vietnam built on the content of Education for Sustainable Development coordinated by UNESCO under the United Nations Agenda 21. After 03 years of successful organization: 2019 in Hội An, 2020 in Ứng Hòa, 2022 in Lào Cai and Nam Định, ESD Camp has made a big splash, helping HILL to be selected as a social partner in the research project of Uppsala University (Sweden) on the informal learning component for sustainable development.

Following the success of a series of summer camps on Education for Sustainable Development, ESD Camp returned in spring 2023 in Thanh Hóa – an ancient land that fully converges geo-cultural forms and preserves several imprints of history. Prominent are the Đông Sơn culture, Lam Kinh ancient citadel associated with the feudal dynasty considered the most flourishing in Vietnamese history, and Hàm Rồng bridge – the "historical witness" of the heroic resistance war against America of the nation.

The program raises relevant issues about community, culture and environment in line with students' perceptions and associated with Sustainable Development goals.

DAY 1 – THE ASSEMBLE OF HEROES IN LAM SƠN

There are many ways to make more young people love history. History is not dry and boring if you think of it as a journey to the past. History is not difficult to imagine if it is recreated and integrated through games. It is not difficult to remember if the teacher knows how to inspire and spark joy in each child.

In order to recreate the heroic Lam Son rebellion that drove out the invading Ming army led by Lê Lợi more than 600 years ago with the intact spirit, The ESD army gathered to train soldiers. We showed solidarity through the challenge of "transporting food" to supply the army, ingenuity through the challenge of "expanding the base" and the spirit of unity through the challenge of "destroying the enemy".

DAY 2 – THE "FLOW OF HISTORY" CHALLENGE

Following the flow of history, the ESD army exploredthe Dong Son culture and civilization – the pinnacle of the early civilization. In particular, the Dong Son bronze drum is the most representative of this culture, which still exists today.

On the face of each type of drum, there are many different motifs engraved and used in today’s ornate decoration. What do they represent? Why did our forefathers engrave these patterns? These motifs were deciphered by "the little historians" in the decoding activity - an intellectual game that is always sought after by campers at HILL's programs because of the clever integration of knowledge and challenge.

Continuing the journey to discover ‘the land of extraordinary people’, the ESD army continued to join the ‘history flow’ challenge at the special national relic site of the Lam Kinh ancient royal capital to find the hiding place of a puzzle set containing 7 events throughout the nation's history.

Throughout thousands of years of building and defending the country, mysterious historical stories of the feudal dynasty considered the most flourishing in Vietnamese history still sparked curiosity and interest in children today.

DAY 3 – AGRICULTURAL CIVILIZATION

With each journey exploring the beautiful S-shaped country, the ESD army not only learns about history but also discovers the beauty of culture in every place they go.

Nestled among the lands of Thanh Hóa is Pù Luông Nature Reserve – the sleeping beauty, enchanting anyone who visits the place. The mist and the rain could not conceal the natural beauty here and the curiosity and spirit of learning of the ESD army about the rare land where Thái and Mường people still use the water wheel – a symbol of agricultural civilization for production.

At the end of the 3 days 2 nights journey, what could be better than enjoying rice in bamboo tubes (cơm lam) made by the ‘soldiers’ themselves?